The Duduza Nigel Multi-purpose Centre in Duduza, Gauteng, was vibrating on 12 May when nurses from around Gauteng gathered in the venue to celebrate the International Nurses Day, an important date in the calendar for nurses. The event was co-hosted by DENOSA and the Department of Health. 

About 3000 joyous nurses embraced the event with their presence as speaker after speaker spoke of the importance of the day. The theme for this year’s event was “Closing the Gap: Millennium Development Goals 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1”

Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Gwen Ramakgopa, talked of the great strides that nurses have made in the fight against the burden of diseases, and the positive results nurses actions have had on the health of the community. She said every nurse in the world and in the country is committing that we achieve these goals as a minimum programme of action.

“The rate of mother-to-child HIV infection has decreased from 8% to 2%. Your profession is a commitment to serve humanity at the most time of need. For that, congratulations for making a right decision to become nurses. As a country with the high rate of abuse, when we said as a country we don’t have enough doctors, you said ‘we are willing to be trained as forensic nurses.’ Don’t feel inferior.

We need to reaffirm the important role that nurses play in our multi-disciplinary area of health,” she said.

MEC of Health in the province, Hope Papo, said: “As nurses, you are held up high in our health system.

We must have nurses who run our hospitals, and you will see in the upcoming appointments in the province.”

DENOSA General Secretary, Thembeka Gwagwa, said nurses must claim their rightful place in both health and society, as the positive strides in fight against diseases shows. Nurses have played a key role in reducing the HIV/AIDS infection rate through nurse-initiated and managed anti-retroviral therapy.

“We need to see ourselves as nurses across the board.We are not ‘just’ nurses; we are nurses! As DENOSA we have launched PPE to make environment conducive for us to work under.”

Motivational speaker, Dr Molapo, said nurses need to go back and raise the bar of care and be patientcentred.

“You must do your job as if the only audience is heaven!”

End